Taxpayer Advocate

The National Taxpayer Advocate submitted its mid-year report to congress a couple of weeks ago. The report identifies priority challenges and issues for upcoming year. The entire report can be seen at this link.

The National Taxpayer Advocate has expressed concern about IRS collection practices in prior reports and has, in particular, made recommendations to reduce the harm that unproductive liens can inflict on taxpayers. The report expresses continuing concern about the IRS’s practice of automatically filing tax liens based on a dollar threshold instead of basing lien-filing decisions on an analysis of the taxpayer’s financial situation. In cases where the IRS has determined a taxpayer is suffering an economic hardship or possesses no significant assets, the filing of a lien is unlikely to further tax collection but will further damage a taxpayer’s credit rating, thus harming the taxpayer, increasing the taxpayer’s cost of living, and reducing the chance the taxpayer will be able to obtain a job and pay off the tax debt. Consequently, TAS will work with the IRS to evaluate the results of its limited changes to the lien-filing process.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm, who are seeking help in resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels, or who believe that an IRS system or procedure is not working as it should. If you believe you are eligible for TAS assistance, you can reach TAS by calling the TAS toll-free number at 1–877–777–4778 or TTY/TDD 1-800-829-4059.

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Here are all the California tax links and California business links handily assembled for your ease of use if you are doing business in Los Angeles, elsewhere in Southern California, or throughout the State.